Chrysanthemum plant named `Blue Jay`

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named `Blue Jay`, characterized by its vigorous and upright growth habit; freely branching plant habit; decorative-type inflorescences; dark lavender ray florets; numerous inflorescences per plant; and good garden performance.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar ofChrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Dendranthema grandifiora andreferred to by the cultivar name Blue Jay.

The new cultivar is a product of a planned breeding program conducted bythe inventor in Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom. The objectiveof the breeding program was to create new Chrysanthemum cultivars havingdesirable inflorescence colors and good garden performance.

The new cultivar originated from a cross made by the inventor of thecultivar Lynn (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 8,171) as the female, or seed, parentwith the proprietary selection 10/GM/94 as the male, or pollen, parent.

The new Chrysanthemum was discovered and selected by the inventor as aflowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlledenvironment in Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom.

Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal cuttings taken atChichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom, has shown that the uniquefeatures of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true totype in successive generations.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined tobe the unique characteristics of `Blue Jay`. These characteristics incombination distinguish `Blue Jay` as a new and distinct cultivar:

1. Vigorous and upright growth habit.

2. Freely branching plant habit.

3. Decorative-type inflorescences.

4. When opening, ray florets are dark magenta; when opened, ray floretsare dark lavender.

5. Numerous inflorescences per plant.

6. Numerous ray florets per inflorescence.

7. Good garden performance.

The cultivar Blue Jay has not been observed under all possibleenvironmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat withvariations in environment such as temperature, daylength and lightintensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

In side-by-side comparisons in Chichester, West Sussex, United Kingdom,under commercial practice, plants of the new Chrysanthemum are morevigorous, more upright, and flower later than plants of the femaleparent, the Chrysanthemum cultivar Lynn. Additionally, the ray floretcolor of the new Chrysanthemum is darker than the ray floret color ofthe cultivar Lynn. In the same comparisons, plants of the newChrysanthemum differed from the male parent in ray floret color andinflorescence form as the selection 10/GM/94 has yellow ray florets anda daisy inflorescence form. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can becompared to the cultivar Debonair (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 5,324). However,in side-by-side comparisons conducted in Oxnard, Calif. under commercialpractice, plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of thecultivar Debonair in the following characteristics:

1. When opening, plants of the new Chrysanthemum have darker ray floretcolor than plants of the cultivar Debonair.

2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are more vigorous and denser thanplants of the cultivar Debonair.

3. Leaves of plants of the new Chrysanthemum have deeper sinuses thanleaves of plants of the cultivar Debonair.

4. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have longer peduncles than plants ofthe cultivar Debonair.

A detailed comparison of plants of the new Chrysanthemum and thecultivar Debonair appears in Chart A at the end of the specification.

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearanceof the new cultivar, showing the colors as true as it is reasonablypossible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type.

The first photograph comprises a top perspective view of a typicalflowering 16.5-cm container of `Blue Jay` with one cutting in thecontainer.

The second photograph comprises a close-up view of five leaves atdifferent stages of development, an opening inflorescence and a fullyopened inflorescence. Foliage and floret colors in the photographs mayappear different from the actual colors due to light reflectance.

In the following description, color references are made to The RoyalHorticultural Society Colour Chart except where general terms ofordinary dictionary significance are used. The following observationsand measurements describe plants grown in Oxnard, Calif. undercommercial practice in a glass-covered greenhouse with average nighttemperatures of 18C, average day temperatures of 30C, and light levelsof 2,000 (cloudy conditions) to 9,000 (sunny conditions) footcandles.

After sticking unrooted cuttings of the new cultivar, plants received 4weeks of long day/short nights followed by short day/long nights untilflowering. Measurements and numerical values represent ranges oraverages for six typical flowering plants.

Botanical classification: Dendranthema grandiflora cultivar Blue Jay.

Commercial classification:

Garden chrysanthemum.

Parentage:

Female, or seed, parent.--Dendranthema grandifiora cultivar Lynn (U.S.Plant Pat. No. 8,171).

Male or pollen, parent.--Dendranthema grandiflora proprietary selection10/GM/94.

Propagation:

Type.--Terminal tip cuttings.

Time to rooting.--10 to 12 days with soil temperatures of 20C.

Rooting habit.--Fine, fibrous and well-branched.

Plant description:

Appearance.--Perennial herbaceous garden plant. Vigorous, stems upright,uniform habit and freely branching.

Plant height.--About 22 cm.

Lateral branch length.--about 20 cm.

Quantity of lateral branches after removal of apical meristem.About 4.

Stem color.--146C.

Foliage description.--Number of leaves per plant: About 60. Number ofleaves per lateral branch: About 15. Leaf arrangement: Alternate. Leafsize, fully expanded: Length: About 5 cm. Width: About 4 cm. Leaf apex:Rounded, slightly apiculate. Leaf base: Acute to attenuate. Leaf margin:Palmately lobed. Leaf texture: Abaxial and adaxial surfaces slightlypubescent, smooth and dull. Veins prominent on abaxial surface. Petiolelength: About 2 cm. Color: Young foliage adaxial surface: 137C. Youngfoliage abaxial surface: 137D. Fully expanded foliage adaxial surface:147A. Fully expanded foliage abaxial surface: 147B. Venation adaxialsurface: 147C. Venation abaxial surface: 147B. Petiole: 147C.

Flowering description:

Appearance.--Decorative inflorescence form. Inflorescences borne onterminals above foliage, arising from leaf axils. Disc and ray floretsarranged acropetally on a fiat capitulum.

Flowering response.--Under natural conditions, plants flower in theautumn. At other times of the year, inflorescence initiation anddevelopment can be induced under short day/long night conditions (atleast 13.5 hours of darkness). Plants exposed to about 4 weeks of longday/short night conditions after sticking followed by photoinductiveshort day/long night conditions, flower about 49 days later.

Quantity of infloreseences.--About 6 inflorescences per flowering stem.Diameter: About 4.3 cm. Depth (height): About 1.8 cm. Diameter of disc:About 7 mm.

Opening inflorescences.--Bud shape: Flattened. Bud size: Length: About 7mm. Width: About 1 cm. Bud color: 70A.

Ray florets.--Shape: Spatulate. Size: Length: About 1.8 cm. Width: About6 mm. Apex: Rounded, emarginate. Base: Acute. Margin: Entire. Texture:Satiny, smooth and glabrous. Aspect: Flat. Number of ray florets perinflorescence: About 156. Color: When opening, adaxial surface: 70B.When opening, abaxial surface: 70D. Mature, adaxial surface: 77C.Mature, abaxial surface: 75C. Fading to: 75B.

Disc florets.--Shape: Tubular. Size: Length: About 4 mm. Width: About 1mm. Number of disc florets per inflorescence: About 28. Color: Immature:6A. Mature: 6A.

Peduncle.--Aspect: Strong and angled about 35° to the stem. Length:First peduncle: About 3.8 cm. Fourth peduncle: About 6 cm. Texture:Pubescent. Color: 148B.

Reproductive organs.--Androecium: Present on disc florets only. Anthercolor: 14A. Pollen: Moderate, 14A in color. Gynoecium: Present on bothray and disc florets. Style color: 154C.

Disease resistance:

No known Chrysanthemum diseases observed to date on plants grown undercommercial greenhouse conditions.

Seed production:

Seed production has not been observed.

                  CHART A                                                         ______________________________________                                        CHARACTERISTIC     `BLUE JAY` `DEBONAIR`                                      ______________________________________                                        PLANT HEIGHT       About 22 cm                                                                              About 24 cm                                     LATERAL STEM LENGTH                                                                              About 20 cm                                                                              About 18.5 cm                                   STEM COLOR         146C       147C                                            LEAF LENGTH        About 5 cm About 4.2 cm                                    LEAF WIDTH         About 4 cm About 3.5 cm                                    PETIOLE LENGTH     About 2 cm About 1.5 cm                                    YOUNG FOLIAGE, ADAXIAL                                                                           137C       147A                                            YOUNG FOLIAGE, ABAXIAL                                                                           137D       147B                                            QUANTITY OF INFLORESCENCES                                                                       6          5                                               PER LATERAL STEM                                                              BUD SHAPE          Flattened  Spherical                                       BUD COLOR          70A        65B                                             RAY FLORET COLOR   70B        82D                                             WHEN OPENING, ADAXIAL                                                         RAY FLORET COLOR, WHEN                                                                           70D        75D                                             OPENING, ABAXIAL                                                              RAY FLORET COLOR, MATURE,                                                                        77C        84B                                             ADAXIAL                                                                       RAY FLORET COLOR, MATURE,                                                                        75C        76D                                             ABAXIAL                                                                       RAY FLORET COLOR FADING TO                                                                       75B        84C                                             NUMBER OF RAY FLORETS PER                                                                        About 156  About 196                                       INFLORESCENCE                                                                 NUMBER OF DISC FLORETS PER                                                                       About 28   About 8                                         INFLORESCENCE                                                                 DISC FLORET COLOR, 6A         2B                                              IMMATURE                                                                      DISC FLORET COLOR, MATURE                                                                        6A         2B                                              DIAMETER OF DISC   About 7 mm About 3 mm                                      PEDUNCLE LENGTH, FIRST                                                                           About 3.8 cm                                                                             About 1.8 cm                                    PEDUNCLE LENGTH, FOURTH                                                                          About 6 cm About 3.1 cm                                    PEDUNCLE STRENGTH  Strong     Moderately                                                                    strong                                          PEDUNCLE ANGLE TO STEM                                                                           About 35°                                                                         About 30°                                PEDUNCLE COLOR     148B       137D                                            ______________________________________                                    

It is claimed:
 1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plantnamed `Blue Jay`, as illustrated and described.